


Protection

by TheFParisCat



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: AU, F/M, Jupiter Ascending Summer Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 16:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7539652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFParisCat/pseuds/TheFParisCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jupiter Jones saw a murder. Now her life's in danger. And Caine Wise is the only one who can save her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mirror in a Newspaper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilacsandlostlovers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsandlostlovers/gifts).



> This was written for Glittervoids as a Jupiter Ascending Secret Santa gift. Merry Christmas in July! :-)

When Jupiter opened her eyes, she was looking into a police officer's face.

"Hello, miss. All you all right?"

She looked around. The walls and the ceiling lights were an oppressive white. She was lying down on a bed with railing on either side.

_I'm in a hospital._

"Oh, gosh. Why am I in a hospital?" She tried to sit up, but sank back down when her head started screaming in pain. She tried to blink the dizziness away as she met the officer's worried eyes.

"Well, you've been unconscious for about five hours."

"WHAT?" She screamed, but immediately regretted it. Her head began pounding again and the light started stabbing her eyes. She covered her eyes with her hands and sighed.

"It's nothing too serious. You just got a concussion."

"How did I get a concussion?"

"Well, presumably after the explosion."

Her eyes flew open and she sat up, headache be darned, and stared at the man in horror. "There was an explosion!?"

The guy gulped and pushed his chestnut hair back, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Miss Jones. I'm jumping the gun a bit. I know this has gotta be a little crazy for you. Do you remember anything about what happened? I could come back later, if that would be better."

Jupiter gripped the sheets with her fists in a panic. _What happened to me?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jupiter was mopping the hallway when she heard voices. There were only two of them, a man and a woman. They were arguing about something. That wasn't exactly bizarre. Balem Abrasax argued with everyone. In fact, it'd be stranger if he wasn't yelling.

She'd just reached started mopping the floor in front of the door when the woman screamed. She looked up just in time to see Balem sink a knife into the woman's chest. She felt frozen as the woman fell to the ground lifeless. Her shaking hands released the mop. As it hit the floor, she snapped out of her reverie. Balem's eyes met her for a brief moment before she fled down the hallway.

"Help! HELP!" She shouted as she bolted down the stairs, trying desperately to outrun the echoing footsteps behind her.

_Just get to the car. Just get to the car._

She reached the parking lot and frantically looked for her car. _Where is it? Oh God. WHERE IS IT?_

She heard the door open behind her and took off running again.

"You can't escape me!" A voice screamed behind her. "YOU CAN'T ESCA—"

A giant "BOOM" cut him off as Jupiter felt her body fly upward and heat sear her back. Her ears rang as she hurtled toward the pavement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's okay, Miss Jones. I'll just come back later."

"No!" She cried, clutching his arm as he turned away. "He killed her!"

The man frowned, confused. "He? Who's he?"

"Balem! He killed her!"

The man looked doubtful. "Who exactly did he kill?"

 _Who? WHO?_ Jupiter frantically looked around the tiny space, trying to find a clue to the woman's identity.

Her eyes landed on the woman. Her picture was in the first article in The Chicago Times.

"Her!" She pointed to the newspaper. The officer grabbed it off of the desk by the bed and scrutinized it for a moment.

"This lady?" The man looked at her with even more doubt.

"Yes! He stabbed her! Right before the building blew up. I swear."

He sighed. "Well, if you're sure, that just made this even more complicated. Do you know who that is?"

She shook her head. "No. Who?"

"That's Seraphi Abrasax. Balem's mother. Are you related?"

"No. Why?"

"She looks a lot like you."

"What are you talking a—" Jupiter snatched the paper away and stared at the picture. Her voice died away as she stared at someone who could very well have been her mother.

"Well, that's weird."


	2. The Wings

Caine had just finished sanding down a bench when Titus Abrasax—dressed in black boots, jeans, turtleneck, and trench coat—walked in and leaned against the doorway with a casual ease that made him appear like he owned the place. 

"Bright and early as usual, Mr. Wise. I wouldn't have expected anything less." His clear, proper, and pleasant voice matched his smile. 

"Titus," Caine said curtly. He started blowing off the excess wood pulp, almost smiling when Titus's lips thinned slightly. Clearly, Titus was used to people bowing down at his feet. But Caine didn't join the crowd when it came to worshipping the Chicago royalty. At least, not anymore.

Titus's presumed displeasure at Caine's slight was not present in his next statement. "You're quite difficult to find, Mr. Wise," he said almost teasingly.

Caine looked up from his work. "Are you hear for something, Titus?" He asked, unmasked irritation in his voice.

Titus smirked. "You may have heard that my family has suffered from some misfortune of late. Two days ago, one of the Abrasax plants blew up, and my mother," he paused, watching Caine tense, then continued, "passed away sometime around then."

Caine frowned at Titus. "There's uncertainty of when she died?"

"Yes. She was in the building when it blew, but whether or not that killed her is a mystery. There is a cleaning girl that claims she saw Balem kill my mother right before the explosion."

Caine's chest felt tight, but he refused to let his raging emotions sneak into his voice."Is that so?" he commented with a calmness he didn't feel.

Titus's eyes were gleaming. "They're trying to find her body under the rubble to discover the truth. Balem has chosen to remain silent until she is found. A wise decision on his part."

Caine willed himself to move again and reached for the finish, starting to coat the bench as he spoke. "What does any of this have to do with me?"

"If my brother did kill Seraphi, he won't want any witnesses to be around by the trial. In fact, he'll want her dead before mother's body is found. And I don't believe that the police can offer adequate care. The cleaning lady needs protection."

"And why do you want me?" Caine refused to look up from his work.

"Because when she wanted somebody to stay alive, Seraphi always chose you. Who am I to break with tradition?"

Caine swallowed, attempting to calm himself. "I appreciate the offer, but I refuse to be a part of the Abrasax family wars again." 

The bench now covered with finish, Caine placed the finish on the floor and turned away from Titus, trying to signal an end to the conversation. 

Titus chose to ignore the gesture and walked into the room. "Really, Mr. Wise. Did you honestly think I was counting on your good will towards my family? That I wouldn't offer some reward for your aid? Here is what I propose. You do this for me, and I'll get you and your friend...um, what was his name?"

"Stinger," Caine said stiffly.

"Ah, yes. I'll get you and Stinger back in The Wings. I think you two have been clipped for too long, don't you?"

Caine turned back to Titus, eyes deadly serious. "I need that in writing."

"Oh, a contract? Right here." Titus pulled a document out of one of his trench coat pockets and handed it to Caine. 

Caine glanced though it and signed. "Where is the girl?"

"She's still at the hospital." Titus gave him a slip of paper with the hospital's address and the girl's room number. "Get there as soon as you can." Titus whirled around dramatically and walked away, his coat flying behind him. As he reached the doorway, he stopped. "Mr. Wise?" he called over his shoulder.

Caine looked up from the contract. "Yes?"

"After this whole incident is behind us, come to my office. Seraphi had something for you."

Caine stared at the doorway long after the black-clad form disappeared, trying to close out memories. Then he grabbed his jet black trench coat and went outside, slipping a stun gun and pistol into a hidden coat pocket.


	3. Love at First Save

For the past two days, Jupiter had given her testimony over and over. The police and nurses had been buzzing in and out constantly, and she had gotten used to the noise of both them and the other rooms on her floor.

So when she awoke, she couldn't figure out what was so out of place. Then she realized it. It was quiet on her floor. In fact, in seemed quiet in the whole hospital.

She only heard machines. No voices.

"Hello?" she called. No answer.

She stood up, moving gingerly to avoid irritating her bruised limbs as much as possible. She entered the hallway, suddenly regretting only wearing her hospital dress. There was no one there.

Panic increasing, she went back to her room to put on her clothes. Finding nothing aside from underwear, shoes, and a bathrobe, she slipped them on and exited the room.

Suddenly, a pillow was in front of her face. She grabbed at it, but it wouldn't budge. And someone was pulling her arms away.

_I can't breathe. I can't breathe._

She kicked at the attacker, relieved when he finally released his grip with a cry of pain. She ran away, stumbling from pain and lack of oxygen. To her dismay, another man entered the hallway, grabbing her and pinning her to the wall.

"Help!" she screamed, and they laughed as they started to smother her again.

Just then, a man in a trench coat swooped in, shooting the first attacker in the head. The man pinning her to the wall let her go to fight the trench coat man. The lack of air started blurring her vision, but she saw the trench coat man make short work of him. He walked over to her slowly, staring at her.

He reached for her, but she screamed, "No!" at the top of her lungs, shaking in fear. He stilled.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said calmly. "But we can't stay here. Their reinforcements will arrive soon."

She could feel herself losing consciousness as she tentatively reached for his hand. He took it gently and picked her up in his arms.

Jupiter felt too dizzy to object. "Who are you?"

"Caine Wise. I'm here to help you," were the last words she heard before slipping into darkness.

 


	4. Rides and Bees

Titus had neglected to mention that this girl looked exactly like Seraphi. But perhaps Titus hadn't known who she resembled. He'd only referenced her as "the cleaning girl", never by name. The only reason Caine knew the girl's name was because he'd looked at her wallet. Jupiter Jones. It was the least believable name he'd ever heard.

His home was too risky. He had to go there. Hopefully, Stinger wasn't as angry as he was three years ago. The chances of that were far too slim, but Caine didn't have any other options. He'd just have to roll with the punches. Literally.

The phone rang. Unsurprisingly, and much to Caine's chagrin, it was Titus.

"You have a talent for flashiness, Mr. Wise. I'm impressed. The police are utterly baffled as to why the hospital has only two occupants, both of which are dead. I do hope their lives weren't lost in vain."

"Miss Jones is fine. I'm taking her to a safe location now."

There was an audible pause, then, "I see. I suppose it would be too much trouble to ask for details?"

"The fewer people know where she is, the better. Wouldn't want some unfortunate slip to Balem."

Titus scoffed. "He would be likely to try to get information from me. Well, the body's just been found. She was stabbed."

Caine gripped the steering wheel so hard he thought it might break. "Do they know who stabbed her?"

"Not yet. But I'm pretty sure the investigation will point to Balem as the most likely suspect."

"Won't her disappearance make her seem suspicious?"

"As far as I'm concerned, she's under witness protection. I'm sure I can convince others of the same. The trial is next month. Thursday, February 29th at 10:00. As long as she's there alive, our deal is sealed. I'll see you then, Mr. Wise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Jupiter's eyes fluttered open, she saw a seemingly endless sea of fields. She tried to get a grasp on her surroundings. She was in a car, going...somewhere. With a man. _Who is this guy? What am I doing here? Did he kidnap me? Why am I wearing a bathrobe?_ She unlocked the car door, wincing at the click it made.

"I'm guessing you want an explanation for what's going on?" The man asked. He looked vaguely familiar, but Jupiter couldn't place where she'd seen him. And she certainly didn't trust him.

"Yes. But I really want you to let me out of the car. Right now."

He looked over at her, his green eyes calm and serious. "I could drop you off here, but that wouldn't be very prudent."

"Oh?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"I don't make a habit of abandoning women on highways. Especially when they're wearing bathrobes."

_He has a point. I don't exactly have many options here. I'm still not okay with this, though. Wait. Was he the guy at the hospital?_

"Are you that person from hospital?"

"Caine."

"Caine Wise."

"Yes."

"Thank you for helping me, Caine. It was very nice of you. But I'd like to go back now."

"Back to Chicago with police protection?"

"Yes."

He pulled over. Jupiter gripped the car handle, ready at any moment to jump out of the car and run.

He took his hands off the steering wheel, unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned slowly toward her. His gaze was so focused, calm, and penetrating that it took all of her will to return it steadily. _He's definitely intense. Hopefully he's not crazy, too. Although I don't see how he can be sane at this point._

"Do you know how much danger you're in, Miss Jones?"

She gulped. "Well, I know some guys tried to kill me."

"Those men were hired by Balem Abrasax."

Her jaw dropped. "That can't be right."

His eyes never left hers. "Balem wants you dead so you can't testify at his trial next month."

"Well, if that's the case, then I need as much protection as I can get. Which I can only get in Chicago."

"Do you know how connected the Abrasax family is? There's no amount of police protection that he can't infiltrate."

She felt panic rising inside. "That, that's not true."

"Did you see any police at the hospital when those men attacked?"

Jupiter thought back. The hospital was empty. No hospital should be so quiet under normal circumstances. It's almost like someone arranged for no one to be there.

She started shaking. Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked pleadingly into his face.

"Please help me. Please."

"Of course, Miss Jones. But in order to help you, you have to trust me."

"I do. I trust you."

He nodded, finally breaking his gaze as he turned back to the steering wheel.

"We're headed to a friend's house. You'll be safe there."

"Okay." She was trying to stop shaking. "What's he like?"

Caine glanced over at her. "He's...somewhat cranky. But you'll be fine." Jupiter noted that he looked almost nervous.

She frowned. "Will you be fine?"

He didn't look over at her when he replied, "I'm sure I will be. Eventually."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, they pulled onto a farm of some sort. There was a beaten-down one-story house slightly up the road, and the closer they got to it, the more apprehensive Caine looked.

"Are you sure this place is okay, Caine?"

"I'm sure it's fine for you."

_But not for you, apparently?_

They both exited the car and walked toward the house. Jupiter was shivering, wishing that she had something warmer to combat Illinois winds.

As soon as they reached the porch, a man stomped out, golden eyes gleaming with rage.

"I told you to never show your face here, Caine."

Caine sighed. "Hi Stinger."

Stinger clomped down the steps, took a long, measured look at Caine, and promptly punched him.

Jupiter stepped back in horror, then stood transfixed as she watched them fight. Caine was taking far more blows than he was giving, but she had to assume that was due to Caine taking on a defensive position. Stinger actually seemed like he wanted to wound Caine.

Jupiter wanted to interfere, but she couldn't see a way to do so without hurting herself. Besides, she couldn't exactly _help_ Caine. She had no fighting experience.

"Dad, will you stop beating up Uncle Caine? I know you two are deeply in love, but it's honestly too much," a sharp, high-pitched voice said.

The two men stopped in mid strike, turning to look at the source of the voice. Jupiter followed suit, and saw a short blond girl with cloudy blue eyes glaring at the scene with her arms crossed. Satisfied that they had ceased fighting, she looked Jupiter up and down.

"You're going to freeze in that bathrobe, lady. Come in before you become an ice cube. And you two," she snapped at the brawlers, "need to clean up before you get dinner." The girl gestured to Jupiter to come inside. She obeyed, looking back in awe at the two men, who both looked rather sheepish.

_She just stopped them. And with so much assurance. I wish I had that commanding presence._

She walked into the house, sighing in relief as the heat warmed her bones. The girl had disappeared to somewhere in the house, giving Jupiter a chance to look around.

The house was quaint, filled to the brim with strange-looking knick-knacks, bee memorabilia, and shabby furniture.

The girl reappeared, carrying a black sweater dress and tights. "These are the largest clothes I have. You're a lot taller than I am."

Jupiter eagerly accepted the clothes. "Thank you so much. Is there a place I can change?"

"The bathroom's the second door on the left."

"Thanks again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Jupiter stepped out of the bathroom, the door squeaked.

"You want something to drink?" a voice called from the kitchen.

"That would be great. Thank you." Jupiter felt really good. The sweater dress was really comfortable and hugged her body perfectly. It was rather strange that the girl had it in her closet, since she was so petite.

The girl scanned her. "Yep. It fits you well. Dad bought that for me one Christmas, but he got the normal size, not the petite."

Jupiter laughed. "That's unfortunate. Well, thank you so much for your hospitality,—oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I never asked you your name."

"I'm Kiza. Kiza Apini." Kiza extended a hand to Jupiter. "And you are?"

Jupiter accepted the handshake with a smile. "Jupiter Jones. It's nice to meet you."

"Same. So how exactly do you know Uncle Caine?"

Jupiter faltered. _What am I supposed to tell her?_ "Well, um—"

Kiza held up a hand irritably. "Never mind. Whenever it comes to them and work, I don't want to know."

_Thank goodness._ "It's complicated."

Kiza scrutinized her again. "I see. How long are you staying with us?"

"That probably depends on your father."

Kiza waved her hand away. "Uncle Caine always convinces dad. It's not a problem."

Jupiter frowned. "I don't mean to pry, but why did they start fighting?"

Kiza sighed. "They've got a lot of history, some of it not pleasant. I don't know much, but I know that Uncle Caine and Dad were in The Wings together."

"What are The Wings?"

Kiza shrugged. "They're this group that does stuff for Chicago's slite."

"Stuff? What sort of stuff?"

"They never told me everything. Anyway, Dad and Uncle Caine were in the protection unit. Three years ago, Uncle Caine got framed for something and when Dad tried to help him, they were both kicked out."

"What was he framed for?"

"I don't know. And honestly, I don't care." Kiza eyes hardened as she looked off into the distance. "One of the Abrasax's reported it and ruined Dad and Uncle Caine's lives. They couldn't find jobs after that. Dad had to send me to live with my grandparents for a year. Uncle Caine was homeless for months. They destroyed everything. Even if he wasn't innocent, he didn't deserve what happened. None of us did."

Jupiter felt sick with sadness. "I'm so sorry."

Kiza sighed resolutely. "It's fine. I'm back with Dad now. He got this house dirt cheap and is trying bee farming. And Uncle Caine's got a carpentry business."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah. I guess." The oven timer went off, and Kiza pulled a casserole out of the oven. "All right, everyone! Time to eat!"

 


	5. Complications

After being embarrassed by his 17-year-old daughter, Stinger had been more willing to listen. After Caine relayed the events, Stinger's anger had been replaced with caution.

He was sitting on the shabby couch across from Caine in the living room, deep in thought. "We can't ignore who she looks like, Caine."

Caine sighed and leaned back in the patchwork recliner. "I know. But how does it fit?"

"She's got to be related. A long lost daughter, maybe?"

Caine shrugged. "I suppose. Maybe I should look into her background."

Stinger looked into Caine's face. "Are you sure you can trust her?"

"I don't know. Maybe she wants revenge against Balem. Or maybe she's just as she appears: a cleaning girl who saw a murder. But whether she's lying about what she saw or not, I can't see her betraying me. There would be nothing to gain."

"Maybe, maybe not." Stinger resolutely sighed. "All right. You two can stay here. Maybe she's right and he'll be put away for good. But keep an eye on her, Caine. If she threatens Kiza, I won't hesitate to—"

"I understand. I'll try to figure this out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caine sighed. He'd looked into Jupiter's past and found some oddities. She was an orphan, adopted by Aleska and Maximilian Jones—currently teaching abroad at some college in Siberia. They claimed she appeared on their doorstep. No birth records were ever found. She'd gotten a job at Abrasax industries right out of high school without interviewing. They hadn't even done a background check.

He'd asked her if she knew anything about Seraphi, and she hadn't.

"The first time I'd ever seen her was in the newspaper at the hospital. It's weird the she looks like me." She shrugged and apologetically smiled at him. "Sometimes people just look alike."

But Caine's biggest problem with Jupiter wasn't her mysterious past. It was her laugh and her smile, both somewhat nervous. It was her warm, brown eyes that seemed to reach inside him. It was how he couldn't stop thinking about her.

He was in love with her. And desperately trying to hide it. But that was getting more and more difficult.

The worst incident was when she'd walked in on him in the bathroom right after he'd showered. He'd just wrapped a towel around his waist when he heard a soft "Oh," behind him. He turned and saw her. She was wearing the bathrobe from the hospital.

"I am so sorry. I didn't know you were—"

"It's fine." Her hair was all over the place, blocking part of her face. It every ounce of strength he had to not rush over to her, brush the strands out of her face, and kiss her.

She stood there for a moment, and suddenly gasped as though she'd forgotten to breathe. "You know what? I'll wait. Yeah. I'll wait. Okay." Then she disappeared.

Kiza knew about it. She kept giving him looks whenever Jupiter was in the room. More than once she'd dropped half-playful hints about her needing an aunt.

Even Stinger liked her. If he knew about Caine's emotions, however, he—thankfully—kept that knowledge to himself.

Despite Kiza's hints, Caine just couldn't bring himself tell her. Seraphi was only part of the reason. He'd never loved Seraphi. She'd been a mother-like figure after his parents had disappeared, so he did care for her. He was utterly dedicated to her, and she appreciated that. Now, he was in love with the same face. He felt like that was wrong, somehow.

But that wasn't the only thing holding him back. How could he pursue her in their current situation? That would be taking advantage of her. Or she might pretend to care about him in order to protect herself. No.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caine was gorgeous. He had this habit of looking so deeply into her eyes that she felt he could see her soul. He was so focused. And dedicated. It was clear how much he cared about Kiza and Stinger. Jupiter was in love with him and wanted him to return her feelings.

But he didn't. His eyes didn't warm when he looked her like they did when he looked at Kiza or Stinger. He was always less relaxed around her. In fact, she was pretty sure he didn't like her at all. So she came to a decision.

On February 29th, Caine would take her to the courthouse and she would testify against Balem. And after that, she would break off contact with him. Even though the thought of leaving Caine behind made her heart hurt more than her head when she'd woken up after the explosion.

 


	6. Courthouse After-Affects

All four of them drove up to Chicago together. Kiza and Stinger kept conversation light, which slightly helped Jupiter's mood. This was the last day she'd ever spend with them. And it was breaking her heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caine felt nervous. And depressed. He had to let her go after today's trial. But right now, he had to protect her. No matter what.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To everyone in the courtroom, the witness just appeared out of thin air. She testified and her testimony had no contradictions with the evidence. The knife had not burned in the explosion, and both Balem's and Seraphi's fingerprints were found on it. While that had caused some confusion, in the end, Balem was declared guilty of murder. He sat there with a smirk on his face. He'd watched Jupiter for the entire trial with a mixture of anger and satisfaction.

It was as everyone was leaving the courthouse that bizarre two events happened. The first was perhaps the strangest.

Suddenly, as Balem Abrasax was being moved from the courthouse, four identical black vans suddenly appeared. The officers guarding him were shot with tranquilizers and Balem was shoved into one of the vans. The four vans then disappeared around the corner. The police gave pursuit, but when they came upon the vans, they were abandoned. Balem Abrasax had vanished into thin air.

The second pertains to Jupiter Jones. As soon as the vans disappeared, the crowds were in an utter disarray. In the chaos that ensued, Caine saw something. A man pulling a gun out and aiming it at Jupiter. He moved in front of her, earning a searing pain near his heart as a result.

"Caine!" Jupiter shouted. "Were you just shot?"

Stinger grabbed Jupiter and pulled her down. "Jupiter, go back to the car with Kiza."

"But Caine—"

"Come on, Jupiter!" Kiza grabbed her arm and yanked her through the crowd.

Stinger grabbed Caine and hoisted him up. "Come on, Caine. You'll be fine. Just stay with me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiza had an iron grip and wasn't letting go. She was holding something that looked suspiciously like a gun.

"W-where did you get that?" Jupiter asked, although she didn't really want to know the answer.

"One of Balem's kidnappers dropped it. I figured it might be useful."

"We have to go back." Jupiter pleaded. "Caine—"

"They'll be fine."

Kiza rounded the corner to the street their sedan was on and stopped. A man very close to the car was looking up and down the street. He spotted them, but before he could aim and shoot Kiza had already downed him with a tranquilizer dart.

"Come on!" She started running toward the car. Jupiter followed suit, slipping into the backseat before Kiza peeled out into the street.

"Stay down!" She commanded. Jupiter laid down in the seat and tried to fight off tears as bullets started ripping through the roof.

Suddenly the car stopped. The right car doors opened. Caine slid in the back with a wince and Stinger got in front. As soon as they were in Kiza sped off again.

"Caine! Are you all right?" Jupiter stared at Caine, fear in her eyes.

"I'm—" he grabbed her with his left arm and pulled her close, using his right to shoot an assailant. She clung to him, attempting to ignore the blood staining his shirt.

After a moment, he released her. She moved up slowly, looking into his face.

He stared down at her. "I'm sorry. All you all right?"

She smiled. "I'm great." She impulsively kissed him, then drew back in horror. "I'm so sorry, I just—"

He cut her off as he pulled her in again and passionately kissed her. As they both drew back, she sighed happily. She would've leaned into him, but she was concerned that it would've aggravated his bullet wound.

"It's about time you two did that," Kiza called behind her. Jupiter chuckled and Caine smiled. Stinger nodded in agreement.

Caine contentedly put his arm around Jupiter, ignoring the screaming pain in his side. He thought back to his conversation with Titus. He and Stinger would join The Wings again. He had the love of his life by his side. He pushed aside thoughts of Seraphi's parting gift.

Whatever Seraphi had for Caine could wait.

 


	7. The End?

Titus and Kalique Abrasax had attended the trial, of course. A few hours later, they sat in a private dining room, having lunch.

"There appear to be three mysteries that were never solved, Kalique." Titus said as he polished off his fettuccine alfredo.

"And what would those be, brother?" Kalique calmly took a sip of white wine.

"Well, first, who blew up the plant. Second, who tried to kill Jupiter after the trial. And third, who sprung Balem's escape."

"Oh, dear brother, I've already solved those." Kalique took another sip.

"Really?" Titus sat back in his chair and studied his sister. "I'm all ears."

"Well, as for the third conundrum, I'm afraid that I caused that."

Titus glared at her. "What on earth for?"

Kalique sighed. "Because for whatever reason, I love my brother. And the idea of an Abrasax rotting in jail just doesn't appeal to me."

"And the others?"

"Well, the second should be obvious. Balem set it up."

Titus shook his head. "There would be no reason to—"

"I think you underestimate how serious Balem's spite is." She took another sip. "Quite foolishly, I might add. We've seen the consequences of it before."

Titus nodded. "And the explosion?"

Kalique finished her glass than looked at him casually. "Why, that was you, of course."

Titus's eyes hardened as he clenched his jaw. "An interesting conclusion, sister. Wherever did it come from?"

"I believe the term is "a life for a life," correct?"

"I don't know what you could possibly be referring to, Kalique." Titus snapped.

"You didn't expect me to forget Famulus, did you?" Kalique smiled maliciously. "You were about as find of mother as I was. You wouldn't normally be so determined to put down her murderer. My theory also explains why you wanted to protect mother's project so badly."

Titus smiled. "I assume you have evidence for this?"

Kalique laughed. "Titus, really. What is the point of having The Wings handle our affairs if we're going to be held accountable for them?"

Kalique stood up. "Goodbye, brother. And do take care of Seraphi's little projects. We may need them someday."

 

 

  
The End...maybe.

 


End file.
